Palakkad: MLA Rahul Mankootathil participated in a public event for the first time since the sexual harassment controversy. He inaugurated the new KSRTC AC seater bus service from Palakkad depot to Bengaluru on Sunday night around 8:30 PM.
Despite earlier announcements by BJP and Yuva Morcha that they would obstruct the MLA if he participated in public events, no protests occurred. The MLA arrived at the stand at 8:50 PM, and after the inauguration, he spoke with passengers and the general public before departing at 9:20 PM. Many people attended the event. Rahul Mankootathil stated that the long-standing demand of Palakkad residents for an AC bus to Bengaluru has now been fulfilled. He added that this demand was brought to the attention of the Transport Minister, and new inter-state services would be launched soon.
CITU and BMS trade union leaders were reportedly aware of the bus service inauguration in advance, and several CITU union officials participated in the event. However, DYFI District Secretary K.C. Riyasudeen stated that he was not aware of the event and maintained their stance of obstructing the MLA if he participated in public functions.
This is the first time an AC seater bus has been allocated from the Palakkad depot to Bengaluru. The bus features 50 push-back seats with modern amenities. The bus will depart from Palakkad depot at 9:00 PM and from Bengaluru at 9:15 PM. The fare from Palakkad to Bengaluru is ₹1171 on Sundays and ₹900 on other regular days. Depot Engineer M. Sunil and General Control Inspector Sanjeevan, among others, attended the event.